The Delaware Department of Transportation is bracing for the worst as forecasts show central and southern Delaware could get several inches of snow this weekend. Parts of the Mid-Atlantic could see up to a foot.

Lucy Conaty scraps ice off the windows of her car along Gilpin Avenue during a previous snow storm.(Photo: Jennifer Corbett, The News Journal)

"We'll be ramping up here over the next 48 hours," said DelDOT spokesman C.R. McLeod on Thursday.

Some flakes could start falling on southern portions of the state as early as Saturday afternoon, with the main event arriving around nightfall, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dean Iovino.

Snowfall will continue into Sunday, he said. Accumulation is expected to be lower in northern Delaware, and it is possible the storm could spare areas farther north in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he said.

"I wasn't expecting this", says Fred Long with Hockessin Fire Hall as he shovels snow off the walk bridge in Hockessin as snow rolls into Delaware and the surrounding area. Suchat Pederson, The News Journal

A dart bus slides down the hill of 10th Street between North King and French streets hitting vehicles along the way during heavy snowfall on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, in Wilmington. Saquan Stimpson, special to the News Journal

The system bringing the flakes will track off the coast near Cape Hatteras, and Delaware will likely be on the northern edge of the storm, Iovino said.

"The higher snowfall amounts would be in central and southern Delaware, maybe a little less to the north," he said. "It's a medium-range storm — not one of those massive storms."

While it was too soon to tell on Thursday afternoon exactly how much snow would fall, Iovino said plows will be needed. Areas south of the First State, such as Virginia, could see up to a foot of snow, he said.

"We might get away with not seeing the worst of it," Iovino said. He said the storm is not expected to bring any coastal flooding or beach erosion. Wind speeds will be relatively normal, at about 15-20 mph with gusts of 30 mph, calmer even than the gusts felt on Thursday.

A Delaware State Trooper arrives on the scene where a sedan heading north on Newport Gap Pike and Lancaster Pike lost control from snow and ice conditions during a previous snowstorm.(Photo: SUCHAT PEDERSON/THE NEWS JOURNAL)

"It's typical winter weather, but it hasn't been all that cold to this point, so that's another rude awakening," Iovino said. "Winter has arrived."

McLeod said DelDOT was brining roadways on Thursday in anticipation. The salty liquid mixture will help keep roads from freezing as temperatures dip.

"There's a bit of uncertainty on the track, but we are hearing Delaware could receive a brunt of the storm," he said. "We want everyone to be prepared for that."